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  • Plastic conicals

    I was wondering if anyone out there is using the plastic conicals and if so how are you controling the temps. during fermentation? What are the pro's and con's you have found when working with them? Do you recommend one brand over the other?
    Do you know of anyone using the flat bottom ones as mash tuns?
    Any and all help welcomed.
    thanks

  • #2
    Try Chris Burcher-PB screenname "Burcher" as I know he is using plastic conicals in Virgina.

    Mike Labbe at Honest Town Brewery in Southbridge MA is using a plastic mash tun.

    Good luck.
    Cheers,
    Mike Roy
    Brewmaster
    Franklins Restaurant, Brewery & General Store
    5123 Baltimore Ave
    Hyattsville,MD 20781
    301-927-2740

    Franklinsbrewery.com
    @franklinsbrwry
    facebook.com/franklinsbrewery

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    • #3
      Yup. They work well enough. I'm controlling the whole room at 65F and doing all ales. They ain't great. Yeast sticks to them much more than stainless (i'm assuming), putting a side port or sample port is difficult and another place for infection. So, I dump as much yeast as possible after a long primary (can't crash cool although the guys at breaker in PA roll their plastic conicals into a cold room to crash) and lose a lot of beer til it runs clean. Had not much luck reusing so I fresh pitch. Can't wait to get past this stage. I would say it is not sustainable to use plastic but that's just my opinion. Oh, I ordered mine from plastic-mart and I'm sure they're mostly similar from other places. They are 'full draining' but leave 1/2 cup or so behind. Nice 18" hole in the top (w/lid) for cleaning. 110 gallon.
      _______________________
      Chris Burcher, Wolf Hills
      Abingdon, VA

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      • #4
        Hey Chris, how big is your bottom connection on those? I have an idea that can help you I think.

        R/
        Mike Pensinger
        General Manager/Brewmaster
        Parkway Brewing Company
        Salem, VA

        Comment


        • #5
          Hey Mike,

          It's a 2 inch opening and is threaded on the outside too (bigger, not sure what it is) but the ID is a standard 2" part. It would be sweet if I could get those threaded parts out of there. Will I be seeing you this weekend?

          Chris
          _______________________
          Chris Burcher, Wolf Hills
          Abingdon, VA

          Comment


          • #6
            We are planning on using these once we get going. I just bought one to experiemnt with in the meantime.

            I am planning on keeping in a cool room similar to your process but top cropping and dumping the yeast. We'll see how that goes. I agree with teh bottom port so if you guys come up with something I would appreciate it if you could share.
            Tim Eichinger
            Visit our website blackhuskybrewing.com

            Comment


            • #7
              when i ordered the conicals plastic-mart said they could drill a hole anywhere i'd like - i'm sure I could, too - but i don't know what i'd put it in as a sample valve. Plus, that's extra money and i'm saving everything for expansion
              _______________________
              Chris Burcher, Wolf Hills
              Abingdon, VA

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              • #8
                This weekend? Are you coming up here or am I missing something?
                Mike Pensinger
                General Manager/Brewmaster
                Parkway Brewing Company
                Salem, VA

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by burcher
                  Yup. They work well enough. I'm controlling the whole room at 65F and doing all ales. They ain't great. Yeast sticks to them much more than stainless (i'm assuming), putting a side port or sample port is difficult and another place for infection. So, I dump as much yeast as possible after a long primary (can't crash cool although the guys at breaker in PA roll their plastic conicals into a cold room to crash) and lose a lot of beer til it runs clean. Had not much luck reusing so I fresh pitch. Can't wait to get past this stage. I would say it is not sustainable to use plastic but that's just my opinion. Oh, I ordered mine from plastic-mart and I'm sure they're mostly similar from other places. They are 'full draining' but leave 1/2 cup or so behind. Nice 18" hole in the top (w/lid) for cleaning. 110 gallon.
                  Chris,
                  Do they have a dish bottom? Our jacketed metal FVs from DME have a dish bottom, and we were initially losing a lot of beer trying to clear the yeast out of the bottom (even after cold crashing). Now, we collect the very first plug ( 1-2 qts) and then let the beer, with some yeast in it, run to the filter. We have found that if you move all the beer off the slurry on the dish bottom, and then let things sit for 10-20 minutes, the slurry eventually slides to the hole in the bottom. After this, we can pull straight slurry and get a couple of gallons of it from a 3 BBL tank (actual dimensions are 4.5 BBLs, and we are putting ~4 BBLs into them).
                  -Lyle C. Brown
                  Brewer
                  Camelot Brewing Co.

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                  • #10
                    they're cone bottom, about 60 degrees. Plus I don't filter so it's critical to get as much yeast out that is going to come out. Once the beer is out there's still a bunch of sticky yeast on the sides of the cone that I rinse out.

                    Thanks!!
                    _______________________
                    Chris Burcher, Wolf Hills
                    Abingdon, VA

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                    • #11
                      Chris,

                      Think stand pipe....

                      2 inch T with a 1 inch pipe in the middle. Next time I see you I will draw it out for you. Basically you put a 2 inch to 1 inch reducer in the t section and a 1 inch pipe on an elbow inside. This allows you to place the intake for the clear beer above your yeast cake. You can still drop it as you need by putting a valve on the bottom of the straight through section.

                      R/
                      Mike Pensinger
                      General Manager/Brewmaster
                      Parkway Brewing Company
                      Salem, VA

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        that sounds amazing - i can picture it and will think about it. Thanks, again, Mike!
                        _______________________
                        Chris Burcher, Wolf Hills
                        Abingdon, VA

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                        • #13
                          Anytime....

                          Oh and I cleaned out my PM's
                          Mike Pensinger
                          General Manager/Brewmaster
                          Parkway Brewing Company
                          Salem, VA

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